New meters being installed

Andrew Mansfield

Friday

Nov 3, 2017 at 9:30 AM

GARDNER - The Traffic Commission is considering changing Regan Street to a one-way street for safety reasons and to allow for more parking and have recently overseen the installation of new parking meters downtown.

GARDNER - The Traffic Commission is considering changing Regan Street to a one-way street for safety reasons and to allow for more parking and have recently overseen the installation of new parking meters downtown.

City Chief Procurement Officer Jennifer Dymek provided an update recently on the new meters, saying, “We’ve got about half of them already installed.”

Dymek said the city is hoping the installation of meters can be completed soon, but it depends on the installer’s schedule and an exact date is not known yet.

Other work related to the new meters, such as installing new poles in some locations, has also been done.

The City Council ap­­proved spending $125,000 for 227 new meters and associated costs earlier this year.

The funding comes from the city’s parking meter reserve account, which is funded through parking meter fees.

The old meters were reportedly failing and one advantage to the new meters is the ability for people to pay with credit or debit cards.

Regan Street

At the recent Traffic Commission meeting, Dep­uty Chief of Police and Traffic Commission Chair­man John Bernard brought up the topic of Regan Street, which begins off Parker Street across from the Acadien Social Club and heads southbound where it intersects with Baker Street.

“It’s been on the radar for a while that Regan Street is very narrow,” Bernard said.

He explained that by making it a one-way street — with cars being allowed to travel northbound from Baker Street until the intersection of Regan Street and Parker Street — it could allow for parking on both sides of the street and reduce the chance of accidents.

In addition, the proximity of the Catholic school Holy Family Academy, which is located on Nichols Street and faces Regan Street on its rear side, is another cited reason to pursue the change.“The safety of the kids is what’s key here,” Bernard said.

Other city officials present at the meeting included Procurement Officer Dymek, Department of Public Works Director Dane Arnold and, both of whom are Traffic Commission members, and also Mayor Mark Hawke, City Council President Ronald Cormier, and Community Development & Planning Director Trevor Beauregard.

“I kind of like the idea,” Arnold said.

“I think it would be good,” Cormier said.

The officials agreed it would be appropriate for a public hearing to be held on changing Regan Street to one-way traffic before the City Council holds a vote, to allow for residents to give their thoughts.“That’s a major change, I think we should,” Hawke said of holding a hearing.

A date for that has not been set yet, but the officials suggested a hearing could be held this month.

Beauregard alluded to the possibility that Regan Street residents could be against changing the traffic pattern, but he said he thinks the change makes sense.

Several other proposals were discussed at the meeting as well, including the Traffic Commission’s recommendation of new stop signs on Winter Street, Ryan Street and Saunders Street, which would need City Council approval in order to be enacted.

Bernard indicated that residents who live on those streets reached out to advocate for the stop signs, citing concerns over traffic safety.

Winter Street begins off West Broadway (Route 2A) and heads southbound where it intersects with Mill Street and then Union Street. Both Mill Street and Union Street also begin off Route 2A — east of where Winter Street begins — and both Mill Street and Union Street head south where they intersect with Route 68.

The change that the Traffic Commission has recommended is to install two new stop signs at the intersection of Winter Street and Mill Street.

The intersection does not currently have any stop signs. The change would be to add a stop sign for Winter Street drivers going in both directions, heading southbound and northbound.

“The residents on Winter Street are saying there is an increase in traffic cutting through Route 68 and 2A,” Bernard said. “I think for safety’s sake, for travelers there should be one north and south.”

The Traffic Commission also recommended adding a stop sign on Ryan Street for drivers heading into West Street (Route 68). The intersection of Ryan Street and West Street is in west Gardner near the Baldwinville border.Bernard said a request for a stop sign was made by a Ryan Street resident.

“He (the resident) said quite a few times cars would just curl right out (onto West Street),” Bernard said.

The Traffic Commission also made a recommendation that a new stop sign be placed at the end of Saunders Street, where it intersects with Betty Spring Road.

Betty Spring Road begins off Pearl Street and leads into Route 140. It is considered to be a busy road and also contains hills and curves.

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